Escential Bites
Establishing digital visibility for the DMV's newest charcuterie experience.
Project Overview
Project: Responsive web design, Freelance
Platform: Website
Role: UX/UI Researcher and Designer
Tools: Figma, Figjam, Maze, Google Forms
Client:
Escential Bites is a newly launched venture by Najae Escentials. Escential Bites brings charcuterie experiences to those living in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area. This woman and minority-owned business specializes in crafting personalized grazing boards that elevate special moments and transforms gatherings into memorable experiences. The founder of Escential Bites seeks to identify distinctive elements that would set their business apart in the market while discovering effective strategies to expand their customer base.
Project Background
Compared to its direct competitors, Escential Bites is still in the early stages of establishing themselves as a local vendor. However, they also have the advantage of observing other vendors and creating something that is unique to their brand and their location.
While Escential Bites maintains a social media presence, they currently lack a dedicated website, which is a significant competitive disadvantage in today's digital marketplace. All of Escential Bites’ direct competitors have established both social media accounts and comprehensive websites, giving them additional channels to showcase products, share brand stories, facilitate direct sales, and engage with customers beyond social platforms alone. Because of this observation, the client decided to move forward with allowing me to design a website to establish an stronger online presence.
Discover
To begin this project, I started with a competitive analysis which looked at three direct competitors and two indirect competitors. The insights gained from this initial research directly informed my decision to develop a dedicated web presence for Escential Bites as a strategic priority.
I used quantitative and qualitative user research for this project. There were a total of 27 respondents for a survey done through google forms and I interviewed 5 people who had ordered a charcuterie board for an event or experienced a charcuterie board at an event within the past year.
User Interview Insights
80%
of participants said that the serving tools used for charcuterie boards could be better at helping a guest be more precise in picking out their selections.
60%
of participants wanted improved food hygiene by recommending smaller, pre-cut portions (like separated grape clusters) to minimize guest handling of shared ingredients.
60%
of participants said that when creating their own boards, that the most challenging aspect was making the board look appealing.
Survey Highlights
78%
of respondents are likely to purchase from a vendor who has positive customer reviews and testimonials
74%
of respondents cited customization options as a reason to purchase from a vendor
70%
of respondents said that convenient delivery would also be a reason to purchase from a vendor
52%
of respondents are willing to spend $15-$25 per person
37%
of respondents feel that it is important that local and/or regional ingredients are used in their charcuterie boards.
Define
While creating the persona of Harmony “the Hostess with the Mostess” I took into consideration the results of my quantitative and qualitative user research. Harmony reflects a host that wants to find the perfect balance of creating a visually appealing presentation of food without sacrificing quality or personal connection during events.
POV #1
A few challenges that the participants experienced was arranging the charcuterie board so that it looked visually appealing, and selecting a variety of ingredients that would complement each other.
HMW inform customers about complementary flavors?
HMW we provide customers with suggestions and guidance on arranging their own charcuterie board?
Solution: In-Person Tasting Events
Monthly, interactive workshops where participants taste and create their own charcuterie boards
POV #2
All of the people I interviewed made their own charcuterie board, or enjoyed a charctuerie board that was home made. These boards were made for smaller private events held at home.
How might we convince customers to utilize our charcuterie services for their smaller intimate events?
Solution: Rewards Program
Create a rewards program that would provide progressive benefits as purchasing volume increases.
POV #3
Four out of five participants said that the serving tools used for charcuterie boards could be better a helping a guest be more precise in picking out their selections. Additionally, three out of five participants talked about making portions smaller or pre-cutting larger items to make the experience more hygienic.
HMW create an enjoyable charcuterie experience by providing helpful serving tools for guests to select items?
HMW create a more hygienic charcuterie board while keeping its communal feature?
Solution: Highlight Charcuterie Cups Option
Since Escential Bites already has a charcuterie cup option, highlghting and pushing customers to this option will emphasize protection from environmental exposure and eliminates shared-serving concerns that come with traditional boards.
Develop
Sitemap
Based on the Survey and Interview results, I was able to gain insights not only about charcuterie boards, but also to what a customer needs to see on a website that would lead them to purchase from Escential Bites, like ensuring that the site had a “testimonials” tab, social media links, and a rewards program.
Based on POVs and HMWs I decided to focus on two ideas:
Idea #1
HMW create a more hygienic charcuterie board while retaining its communal feature?
Solution:
Provide individual charcuterie cups and boxes.
What does this accomplish?
Allows guests to grab groups of items at the same time without having to touch too many things or even taking more than intended.
Boxes and/or cups would still be arranged in a pleasing way and in a central place to encourage conversation and engagement.
How does this accomplish this?
Highlight the benefits of these items on webpage and social media pages.
Provide testimonials from former customers who ordered these items.
Idea #2
How might we convince customers to utilize our charcuterie services for their smaller intimate events?
Solution:
Referral and Return Customer Program
What does this accomplish?
New customers receive a discount with referral; can range from free delivery and/or percentage off.
Returning customers get to collect points to receive either a significant discount on 5th order, or a free item to a certain dollar amount.
How does this accomplish this?
Highlight rewards and referral program on website and social media.
Highlight the convenience of purchasing a board/cups/boxes so that hosts to focus on enjoying their event.
Provide easy online ordering and delivery options, like a quick add button.
Emphasize cost effectiveness (for example no leftover or excess ingredients).
After determining which features we were prioritizing Escential Bites, the task flow below guided my low fidelity wireframes.
Low Fidelity Wire Frames
Mood Board
After creating low- fidelity wireframes, I scheduled a meeting with my client to understand their aesthetic preferences, core values, and business vision. This session revealed key insights about her unique brand identity, personal inspirations, and the specific atmosphere she hopes to create for her customers through the digital experience.
Logo Refresh
During our client consultation, I initiated a discussion about logo identity. While the existing "Najae Escentials Collections" branding effectively represents their original business focused on natural perfumes, body scrubs and body oils, there appeared to be a conceptual gap between this visual identity and their newer charcuterie board offerings.
After extensive research, I presented my client with a reimagined logo for Escential Bites that honors their heritage. The design incorporates the "Dwennimmen," a West African Adinkra symbol that represents strength and humility, which resonates with the meaning behind their name “Najae”.
During our discussion of this concept, my client reveled that "Najae" is actually a blend of both of their grandmothers' names. These family matriarchs represented strength and provided unwavering support across generations, qualities that are also reflected in my client and contribute to the brand's foundation and visual identity.
After
Before
High Fidelity Wire Frames
After the approval of colors and logo, I created high fidelity wire frames that would serve as the basis of my prototype.
Deliver
Feedback from usability tests resulted in the following changes to the Escential Bites website:
Task : Find and complete an order for 10 charcuterie cups
Update #1
Change the form picture to reflect item that is being purchased, in this case, charcuterie cups.
Additionally, make the form boxes “feel lighter.”
Update #2
Place billing address, delivery address and payment method on the same page.
Final Prototype
Prototype
Find and Order Charcuterie Cups
Next Steps
Based on the research I conducted, the next steps for Escential Bites would be to develop the following:
Promote rewards program on social media
Escential Bites should highlight their customer loyalty program across all digital platforms to encourage repeat business and attract clients planning smaller, more intimate gatherings. In addition to this approach, implementing a dual-incentive system that rewards both referrals and customer testimonials would help to boost brand visibility while creating an authentic word-of-mouth pipeline.
Coordinate Monthly Interactive Workshops
Escential Bites should consider hosting monthly workshops where participants learn to craft charcuterie boards using seasonal ingredients from the region. This initiative would create valuable partnership opportunities with area farmers, artisans, and specialty food producers, strengthening community ties while showcasing the best local offerings.
Research Serving Tools
Escential bites should explore and experiment with using different serving tools for their charcuterie boards. A consistent pain point that users had with charcuterie boards was that it is difficult to select individual items without direct hand contact. Additionally some tools are too large and bulky and thinly sliced items like prosciutto would be difficulty to separate cleanly and nicely.
Final Thoughts
It was an honor to be able to work on this project with my client, who is someone I’ve know professionally for many years. I enjoyed the creativity and conversations that were had and I was proud to present a completed project to her, not just in design, but also for strategic marketing and business initiative purposes to help their business grow.